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It's a charge many iPhone lovers will surely balk at. Verizon Wireless today announced that it will add on a whopping $30 surcharge for customers who upgrade their mobile device.

Beginning April 22nd, Verizon Wireless will charge the fee for device upgrades in addition to the price they pay for the new device. A rep for the company tells Reuters that the added charge will help the carrier "provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect."

According to some of the analysts who have weighed in on the matter, Verizon's move will all but certainly not be welcomed by customers, but it may not be enough to dramatically curtail iPhone upgrades. More importantly to Verizon, however, is that the new fee could add up to an additional $1 billion for Verizon annually.

So although upgrade charges are, in fact, quite common (Sprint Nextel, for example, charges a $36 upgrade fee), they are never popular or fatal. And that's acceptable to Verizon, which seems to be less concerned with what's popular and more concerned with what's profitable as the carrier looks make a bigger bank out of the top smartphone on the market today.

It ticks me off when they charge to renew a contract. I've never paid a activation fee (as AT&T calls it). I've gotten it removed every time. There is no reason for them to charge me to continue paying them for their services for an additional 2 years.

"provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect."
What...screwing us over?

So after getting huge lash-back when they were going to charge a convenience fee for paying online they take another stab at another different fee? Fuk Verizon, you can have their service and they will still find a way to charge you more for their already overpriced service. Soon they will disable the iPhone GPS, App Store and headphone port and charge to enable each one or offer the "Multimedia Package" which will enable all three for a low price of $20 a month.

So after getting huge lash-back when they were going to charge a convenience fee for paying online they take another stab at another different fee? Fuk Verizon, you can have their service and they will still find a way to charge you more for their already overpriced service. Soon they will disable the iPhone GPS, App Store and headphone port and charge to enable each one or offer the "Multimedia Package" which will enable all three for a low price of $20 a month.

Um? Verizon's not the only carrier with an activation fee
Edit:upgrade fee

Um! I know they're not the only carrier to do this, which is why I said it's ANOTHER reason why I wouldn't move over to them. There's plenty of other reasons why I wouldn't, this upgrade fee is just one more reason not to!

I'm in Puerto Rico, we had Verizon from 2000 to about 2005 and, and it was the worst cellphone company to have ever come here. Bad to almost no signal at all, ridiculous prices simply because where in an island and could not enjoy the same benefits of the states and some of the worst crappy cellphones ever and when a new cool cellphone came out we had to wait until it was a year old to have it here, not to mention that more than half the cellphone plans where unavailable due to "regional" issues (another word for shut up and be happy you have a cellphone from Verizon). I'm happy there gone and the fact that they need to charge people $30 activation fee just means there in trouble and desperate. Oh and Verizon, LEAVE THE CDMA NETWORK ALREADY and maybe you might get more costumers, people don't like to have a cool phone set up to their likes, just to have rendered useless because of your stupid cdma network.

Verizon wants to rip off its customers as bad ATT does. I am still shocked that ATT is unlocking phones. Truely amazing but ATT are still a-holes no matter how you look at it, Verizon is in the same boat now.

It ticks me off when they charge to renew a contract. I've never paid a activation fee (as AT&T calls it). I've gotten it removed every time. There is no reason for them to charge me to continue paying them for their services for an additional 2 years.

"provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect."
What...screwing us over?

EXACTLY!!!! Hence why I moved to AT&T...... Well, mostly because they didn't carry the iPhone at the time. But still, I hated having to have them transport my contacts to a new phone when I can do it myself vs. stand in line at a phucking store.

Ok, so I just want to know if I have the 4S and the iPhone 5 comes out, can I get it for $200 and just pay the upgrade fee? Because if so I think that's a good deal instead of paying the $600. Although if I still need to pay the $600 and the upgrade, then yea, that's complete bs.

Fuk Verizon, you can have their service and they will still find a way to charge you more for their already overpriced service. Soon they will disable the iPhone GPS, App Store and headphone port and charge to enable each one or offer the "Multimedia Package" which will enable all three for a low price of $20 a month.[/QUOTE]

Verizon seams to be leading the charge..don't think for one minute that others will not follow. The only provider that probably "does not NEED" to do this is the biggest = AT&T. At the same time this is not about need, its about creating a cushion and squeezing every red cent possible out of the iPhone. Most companies give you $$ towards an upgrade in service. I've had Tmo, Sprint, Cingular and AT&T. Notice there is no Verizon in there haha! I wouldn't want an iPhone that does not perform voice and data simultaneously. Already slacking on that front..now Verizon customers have to pay extra for a phone lacking advancements? YIKES..good luck with that!

"provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect."
What...screwing us over?

Yup! That's what we've come to expect.....Their day is coming. Just like dial up providers of yesteryear that squeezed us for every dime they could, just like DirecTV and others that keep bumping up rates to consumers to cover their losses rather than listening to their customers. I hope they are putting their profits away for a rainy day, cuz it's about to rain up in here!

Just get a prepaid service and stop feeding these vampires. You know, it is not FUNDAMENTAL to be connected to the internet ALL THE TIME. You can have periods with no internet until you reach the next coffee shop/library/home. I pay exactly $100 (+ $8 in sales tax) per YEAR and find I rarely need to pay for extra time.